Atlas / tournament documentation

Observers

Enroll observers, log their requests to watch a released pairing, and record each side's approval.

An observer is a person with a Meridian account who is allowed to watch a debate without taking part in it, for example a coach, a parent or a league official. The Observers screen enrolls observers, logs a request to watch one released pairing, and records whether each of the two competing sides agreed. Private observation opens only when both sides have approved.

The screen is the Observers entry under Records in the left rail, at the route /tournaments/{id}/admin/observers. Its eyebrow reads People / Observers, and its heading is the tournament's name.

Who can use it

Role	What the role can do on this screen
Platform admin	Enroll, remove, log requests and record approvals.
Organization owner or admin	The same.
Tournament admin seat	The same.
Tab seat	The same. No part of this screen is limited to full admins.
Compliance seat	Cannot open the screen. A compliance seat is sent to Records with a read only notice.
Observer	Cannot open the screen. An observer sees only the rooms that were approved for them.
Competitor	Cannot open the screen. The competing sides of a pairing can also answer a request from the room's own page, which this screen records as well.

Every action checks admin access again on the server and refuses with a message in the page's red banner when the check fails. Each database function behind the screen checks the same permission a third time.

Controls

Control	What it does	Default or limit
Enroll observer	A form. Enrolls an existing account as an observer of this tournament. Its note reads The person must already have a Meridian account.	Enrolling an account that is already enrolled changes nothing.
Account email	The address of the account to enroll. Required. Matched to accounts without regard to capitals.	Surrounding spaces are removed.
Enroll observer button	Submits the form.	Refused when the address matches no account.
Request pairing access	A form. Logs a request made by an observer, on the observer's behalf, to watch one pairing. Its note reads Use this when an observer asks to watch a specific released online pairing.	Logging a request also enrolls the observer when they are not yet enrolled.
Observer email	The address of the observer's account. Required.	Same matching as Account email.
Released pairing	A select that starts on Select a pairing. Each option reads the round name, the round number and the room, if one is set. Required.	Lists every released pairing, in any round. The note on screen mentions online pairings, and the list is not limited to them.
Reason, optional	Free text saying why the observer wants to watch. Shown on the request card.	Optional. No length limit on this screen.
Log request	Submits the form. A request that already exists for the same observer and pairing is kept, and only its reason is updated.	A new request starts as pending.
Enrolled observers, with a count	A table of enrolled observers. Newest enrollment first.	Empty state: No observers enrolled yet.
Email column	The observer's email, or Unknown account when the account cannot be read.	Not editable.
Enrolled column	The enrollment date in the browser's date format.	Not editable.
Approved pairings column	The number of this tournament's pairings the observer is approved for: requests where both sides approved and the request was neither withdrawn nor denied.	Not editable.
Remove	Removes the enrollment. The observer loses access to every room of the tournament at once, even where both sides had approved.	No confirmation is asked.
Pairing requests, with a count	One card per request, newest first. Each card shows the observer's email or Unknown observer, a status word, the round name, the round number, the room, the two team names as aff vs neg, and the reason when one was given.	Empty state: No pairing requests yet.
Status word	The stored status of the request: pending, approved, denied, rejected or withdrawn.	A new request is pending.
Aff approves	Records that the affirmative side agreed.	Always sets the affirmative approval to yes.
Neg approves	Records that the negative side agreed.	Always sets the negative approval to yes.
Deny	Records that the affirmative side refused.	The button sets the affirmative approval to no. It has no negative counterpart, so a refusal by the negative side cannot be recorded here.

The request status follows the two approvals. When both sides approve, the request becomes approved. When either side is set to no, it becomes denied, or rejected when the request was still pending at that moment. Otherwise it stays pending. A withdrawn request stays withdrawn.

What an observer can see

Enrollment alone shows nothing. An enrolled observer has no access to any room until a request for that room has both approvals.
An approved observer opens the room page of the approved pairing, which holds the room details and, for an online debate, the meeting link. The room's chat and the evidence exchange are for the competitors, the judges and the staff. An observer watches and does not post.
Access ends at once when the request is withdrawn or denied, or when the observer is removed here.
Open spectating is separate. A round with its spectating setting on lets any signed in account open that round's rooms, with no enrollment and no approval. Tournaments created from the platform's demo and preset seeds hold spectating off whatever is set.
No message is sent. Enrolling, logging a request and recording an approval send no email or notice to the observer or to the competing sides. The approvals recorded here are answers relayed to the desk by other means.
Records. Each action writes an entry: Observer enrolled, Observer removed, Observer request logged, Observer request approved or Observer request denied. Records names people by account and never by the address typed.

Tasks

To give an observer access to one debate:

Open Records in the rail. Select Observers.
In Request pairing access, type the observer's account email in Observer email.
Choose the debate in Released pairing. Add a Reason when one was given.
Select Log request. The banner reads Observer access updated.
Ask each side whether it agrees. In the request card, select Aff approves when the affirmative side agreed, and Neg approves when the negative side agreed.
Confirm that the status word reads approved.

To enroll an observer before any request exists, type the account email under Enroll observer and select Enroll observer.

To refuse a request, select Deny on its card. To take access away from a person, select Remove on their row in the Enrolled observers table.

After a successful action the page reloads with the banner Observer access updated and the lists show the change.

Troubleshooting

A failure reloads the screen with a red banner above the forms. The message travels in the page address, so the banner shows it whatever its length.

Message	What it means	What to do
Observer email is required.	The Enroll observer form was sent empty.	Type the account email.
Pairing and observer email are required.	The Request pairing access form lacked a pairing or an address.	Choose a pairing and type the email.
Invalid observer approval request.	The approval button carried no request or an unknown side.	Reload the page and try again.
Observer account is required.	The Remove button carried no account.	Reload the page and try again.
No Meridian account found for followed by the address	No account has that email. A hint says the observer must have signed up first.	Ask the observer to create an account, then try again.
Not authorized to administer this tournament	The database refused the action for this account.	Use an account that administers the tournament.
Pairing not found	The chosen pairing no longer exists.	Reload the page.
Spectate request not found	The request was removed before the button was used.	Reload the page.
Side must be aff or neg	The approval carried an unknown side.	Reload the page and try again.
You do not have admin access to this tournament.	The access check refused the account.	Use an admin account.
Could not check your admin access. Try again.	The access check could not run.	Try again.
Could not load the released pairings: followed by a reason	The list for the Released pairing select could not be read.	Reload the page.
Could not load the rounds: followed by a reason	The round names could not be read.	Reload the page.
Could not load the tournament: followed by a reason	The page could not read the tournament and shows an error page.	Reload the page.

Related pages: Rounds and pairing for releasing pairings and the spectating setting of a round, and Roles and permissions for what an observer reads.